Man Bait (1952)

The married owner of a bookstore is attracted to his sexy blonde clerk. He finally gives in to temptation and makes a pass at her, but that only results in him getting enmeshed in blackmail and murder.

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Frederick Knott (screenplay), James Hadley Chase (original story)

Stars:

George Brent, Marguerite Chapman, Raymond Huntley

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Brent	...	John Harman
Marguerite Chapman	...	Stella Tracy
Raymond Huntley	...	Clive Oliver
Peter Reynolds	...	Jeffrey Hart
Eleanor Summerfield	...	Vi
Meredith Edwards	...	Inspector Dale
Harry Fowler	...	Joe
Diana Dors	...	Ruby Bruce
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sybil Saxon	...	Bank Clerk (scenes deleted)

Storyline

John Harman (George Brent), manager of an Oxford Street bookstore, reprimands an attractive young clerk, Ruby Bruce (Diana Dors), for being late to work. The same day Ruby catches Jeff Hart (Peter Reynolds) stealing a rare book, but instead of reporting him she accepts a date with him. That night, before her date, Ruby is working late with Harman, who, in a fleeting moment of intimacy, kisses her. He apologizes but later Jeff forces Ruby to blackmail Harman. When he refuses to pay off, Jeff tells Ruby to write a letter to Harman's wife, which causes her death from a heart attack. Dazed by the tragedy, Harman gives Ruby 400 pounds when she renews her demands. Jeff catches Ruby hiding part of the money, kills her and hides her body in a packing case. Harman discovers Ruby's body and realizing he will be suspect, flees in panic.

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Plot Keywords:

clerk | blackmail | murder | british noir | based on play | 

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Taglines:

Blonde Blackmail!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Man Bait

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films,Lippert Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place in October 1951.

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Goofs

Harmon says "goodbye" to the other person on the phone when he's put the handset almost back on the cradle, well away from his mouth.

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Connections

Referenced in Alma Corsária (1993)

User Reviews

A guy gets out of prison, see ...

...First thing he does is go to a bookstore. He tries to steal a book. That is how logical this movie is throughout. When we see shelves of books at a time, later, the books seem to be attached to each other. They're like room decorations some people buy in bulk.

The proprietor of this bookstore is, of all people, George Brent. He had a long career. Though this is a noir of sorts and I therefore can't give it a bad rating, let's just say this is hardly a career highlight for him.

Marguerite Chapman is attractive and convincing as his employee. She's stylish and pretty and comes off as nice.

This is an early Diana Dors film. She's decent in it. She gets pulled into some very bad behavior. But she's not a truly terrible character. She's chronically late to work and weak willed.

This isn't a memorable or distinguished film. But it isn't terrible, either. Nor does it hold to any formula. It's mediocre in a unique way.